Walking in the Light

“I am the light of the world,” says the Lord; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”  That is the Communion Antiphon of today’s Mass or Liturgy.  How, we might ask ourselves, do people survive the disasters of their lives: the loss of loved ones, the despair of serious mental illnesses that throw them into a pit of darkness for weeks and months and even years?  How do people survive the loss of jobs that deprive them of means to support their families, to provide shelter and food, to save for their children’s future education?  How do people survive wars, their cities and homes and landscape being destroyed by bombs while terrorists hide in burned out buildings aimed to kill or maim anyone within range? How do Christians remain hopeful when fleeing persecution?  How to people of color stay hopeful when injustices abound and the lives of their children hang in a balance, should law enforcement brutally deprive them of their lives? How do children of immigrant families maintain faith when they face deportation because their  parents, undocumented,  have worked  long hours in our factories and on our farmlands faithfully doing work that their employers  seek them out to do and for which minimum wage is paid?

“Come to me all you who are burdened and I will refresh you,” says Jesus, the One who is their light in the darkness of their lives.  That same Person, the Son of God, whom, in faith, trust, and love we follow each day, is also the light in our lives.   This Jesus  knows what it is life to live with one’s life in the balance, as Scribes and Pharisees followed Him, seeking a way destroy Him. Unjustly, He was crucified by those who felt threatened by His way of living and who were fearful of who He really was. How many men and women and children are the victims of violence by those who are jealous of them, fearful of them, hating the very sight of them, not wanting them in their neighborhoods or living next door. Jesus knows the feeling!

“Come to me all you who are burdened and I will refresh you, says the Lord.”  “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life,” even in the darkest of days.